It\u2019s not easy getting old. When times are bad they\u2019re worse for the elderly and no better example is there than the times in which we\u2019ve been living for the past twelve months or so\u2014in the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. There\u2019s no doubt that the older you are the more physically vulnerable you can be to the coronavirus, but there\u2019s evidence that aging can also turn us into mentally tougher \u201cold birds,\u201d as the saying goes, according to Rebecca Weber, CEO of the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC]. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was concern across the board when the pandemic got started that there would be a \u201cmental health crisis\u201d among the older population due to COVID based restrictions on contact with friends and family. But according to an article in JAMA<\/a>, the Journal of the American Medical Association, there is \u201cevidence suggesting that, counter to expectation, older adults as a group may be more resilient to the anxiety, depression, and stress-related mental health disorders characteristic of younger populations during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The article cites a study by the Centers for Disease Control that showed \u201c933 participants aged 65 years or older reported significantly lower percentages of anxiety disorder (6.2%), depressive disorder (5.8%), or trauma- or stress-related disorder (TSRD) (9.2%) than participants in younger age groups.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n But that doesn\u2019t mean seniors are not lonely, says Weber. \u201cHow can you not be lonely when interpersonal relationships are suddenly curtailed. But it appears that the older you get the better able you are to cope psychologically with loneliness.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n She notes that there\u2019s even more evidence that we get stronger emotionally as we get older. The AMAC CEO cites a new study conducted by the Stanford Center on Longevity, for example. In it, Professor Laura Carstensen, says that “as people age, they’re more emotionally balanced and better able to solve highly emotional problems.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n